Wood treatment device

Abstract

A wood-treatment device may provide controlled release of a wood treatment agent, such as a fumigant, when placed into standard bored treatment holes in wood structural members. Fumigant release may be controlled by releasing the fumigant through a controlled-release component that may be in a neck of the container or in a passageway of a cap assembly. The cap assembly may include an extension that dislodges the controlled-release component when placed on an open end of the container or has a needle that punctures a seal covering a container opening. The container may have ends configured to be engaged by an adapter used to manipulate the container in a bored hole. The adapter may clip onto a neck of the container, have flanges to seal a bored hole when inserted therein, and have a distal end with an opening configured for engagement and manipulation by an external tool.

We claim: 
     
       1. A wood treatment device comprising:
 a supply of trichloronitromethane; 
 a container having an elongate body with a closed end and an opposite open end, the container defining an internal expanse holding the supply of trichloronitromethane, and an open-end section interposed between the internal expanse and the open end, the open-end section defining an open-end passageway providing the only fluid communication through the container between the internal expanse and the open end, the open end passageway having a reduced cross-sectional area compared to the internal expanse, and the container being made of a material that is non-permeable and non-reactive to the supply of trichloronitromethane; and 
 a plug disposed in the open-end section of the container, filling the open-end passageway, made of a porous material, and having a porous inner face and a porous outer face, wherein the inner face extends across the open-end passageway and is exposed across the inner face to the internal expanse, the outer face faces away from the internal expanse, and the plug is permeable to the supply of trichloronitromethane and is configured to impede passage of the supply of trichloronitromethane through the plug; and 
 a cap assembly configured to be manually positioned on the open end of the container, the cap assembly including an extension having a blunt end configured to extend through the open-end passageway sufficiently to dislodge the plug from the open-end section and move the plug from the open-end passageway in the open-end section into the internal expanse of the body when the cap assembly is manually positioned on the open end of the container, wherein the extension includes an extension rib extending laterally outwardly along a length of the extension with the extension rib forming a side of an extension channel along the extension, and the cap assembly includes at least one channel allowing less restricted flow of the supply of trichloronitromethane from the open-end passageway to externally of the wood treatment device when the cap assembly is positioned on the open end compared to flow through the plug, and the cap assembly includes a shroud extending around at least a portion of sides of the container along the exterior of the open end when the cap assembly is positioned on the open end of the container and the at least one channel extends between the shroud and the open-end section of the container when the cap assembly is positioned on the open end of the container, the shroud including a shroud rib extending laterally inwardly along a length of the shroud with the shroud rib also forming a side of the one channel along the shroud. 
 
     
     
       2. A wood treatment device comprising:
 a supply of trichloronitromethane; 
 a container having an elongate body with a closed end and an opposite open end, the container defining an internal expanse holding the supply of trichloronitromethane, and an open-end section interposed between the internal expanse and the open end, the open-end section defining an open-end passageway providing the only fluid communication through the container between the internal expanse and the open end, the container being made of a material that is non-permeable and non-reactive to the supply of trichloronitromethane; 
 a plug disposed in the open-end section of the container, filling the open-end passageway, made of a porous material, and having a porous inner face and a porous outer face, wherein the inner face extends across the open-end passageway and is exposed across the inner face to the internal expanse, the outer face faces away from the internal expanse, and the plug is permeable to the supply of trichloronitromethane and is configured to impede passage of the supply of trichloronitromethane through the plug; and 
 an adapter extending distally of the container, the adapter having a proximal end configured to be selectively manually secured to one of the ends of the container, and a distal end positioned distally of the container, the distal end having a slot and a cross hole, wherein the slot is open from a distal surface of the adapter and extends into the distal end toward the container, and the cross hole extends laterally from the slot in a position spaced toward the container from the distal surface, the cross hole being defined in part by a contact surface extending laterally from the slot and a wall extending along the cross hole axially toward the container from the contact surface, the wall serving as a stop limiting travel of a foot of an elongate manipulation tool inserted through the slot axially toward the container and pivoted laterally to a position in the cross hole between the contact surface and the container; 
 wherein the one end of the container has a neck section extending from the body and a lip section adjacent to the neck section and distal of the body, the neck section being narrower than the lip section; the body, neck section, and lip section are respectively cylindrical, and the lip section has a diameter that is less than a diameter of the body; and the adapter includes an attachment component having at least a first finger located axially toward the container from the contact surface and defining a neck space having a size configured to accommodate the neck section but not accommodate the lip section. 
 
     
     
       3. The wood treatment device of  claim 2  wherein the at least a first finger is resilient and the attachment component defines a gap defined at least in part by an end the at least a first finger that is less than a cross-sectional dimension of the neck section and sufficiently wide to allow nondestructive deflection of the at least a first finger during passage of the neck section through the gap.